Sad News, Nicholas Shank Jr. Died March 26, 2010

The Arts Community has lost a leader with the death of Nicholas Shank Jr., the Director of the Katherine E. Nash Gallery located in the Regis Center for the Arts on the U of M campus.

Read the Star Tribune obituary and story.

If you would like to take a moment to visit and sign the Legacy Guest Book for Nicholas Shank Jr. it is linked here.

Memorials are preferred by family to be sent to the Katherine E. Nash Gallery:

Katherine E. Nash Gallery
Regis Center for Art, University of Minnesota
405 21st Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55455
(612) 624-6518
artdept@umn.edu

Again, we are sad to hear of this news. Nick will be greatly missed. His enthusiasm upon hearing of a new exhibit was often, "That's really fantastic."

Nick, it is you who's fantastic.

The Art Treasures of Iraq

Dr. Donny George, former director-general of the Iraq Museum, will present a lecture, the Looting of the Iraq Museum, at the University of St. Thomas  on Friday, April 9th. George will give a second lecture on Saturday, April 10th at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.

For more information on these lectures or Dr. George please contact the University of St. Thomas, Department of Art History, (651) 962-5560.

Mark Your Calendar for a Great Lecture

(Click image to enlarge.)

Former director-general of the Iraq Museum to speak at St. Thomas April 9

Dr. Donny George Youkhanna, who was director-general of the National Museum of Iraq in Bagdhad before fleeing his country in 2006, will give an account at the University of St. Thomas next month of the cultural losses suffered by the museum and 12,500 archaeological sites in the wake of his country’s invasion.

Youkhanna’s lecture, “The Looting of the Iraq Museum,” begins at 6 p.m. Friday, April 9, in Room 126 (auditorium) of John R. Roach Center for the Liberal Arts on the St. Thomas campus in St. Paul. The talk is free and open to the public.

He will give a second free lecture, “The Discovery of the Nimrud Treasures,” at 11 a.m. Saturday, April 10, at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, 2400 Third Ave. S., Minneapolis. The lecture, co-presented by the Archaeological Institute of America and its local chapter on the anniversary of the looting of the Iraq Museum, will be followed by a brief candlelight vigil in remembrance of that event.

“Dr. George,” as he is known in the United States, is an internationally renowned archaeologist, anthropologist, author, curator and scholar who also was chairman and president of Iraq’s State Board of Antiquities and Heritage. Educated at the University of Baghdad, he was instrumental in recovering nearly half of the 15,000 Mesopotamian artworks and artifacts looted from the Bagdhad museum and other archaeological sites during the 2003 invasion. Threats from extremists against him and his family forced him to fee his country; today he is a visiting professor in the Anthropology Department at Stony Brook University in New York.

The National Museum of Iraq reopened in February 2009, and thousands of works remain lost. Youkhanna told The New York Times that he believed the museum had been reopened “for political reasons” and required “years’ more preparations to reach international standards of curatorship, conservation and security before it could safely accommodate museumgoers.”

I'll Have These Three

Recent discoveries show an arts scene rejoicing in the arrival of spring. In order of must-see before the shows close.

The Women's Art Registry of Minnesota's 26th Annual All-Member Juried Exhibition.

At the Northrup King Building, Room 332 through March 27. Free and open to the public. Contact info@thewarm.org for more information or visit www.thewarm.org


Stevens Square Center for the Arts

Be sure to visit the exhibit Conjured Memories, new narrative drawings by J.M. Culver at the gallery. Hours are 1-5 Friday and Saturday only. Online information at www.stevensart.org


Northern Clay Center

I was struck by the beauty and masterful work in the item pictured on the front of the most recent Northern Clay Center brochure. There are a number of events upcoming at Northern Clay, perhaps reserving a parking spot is the appropriate action. Visit www.northernclaycenter.org for details.

Anne Hirondelle is the artist of the piece pictured above. Be sure to learn more about the artist by visiting Northern Clay or at http://www.sedersgallery.com/ where sketches and additional work by the artist is online for review.

Spring Fling at Frank Stone Gallery Tomorrow

Farida Hughes, Crossing Boundaries

Celebrate spring with the closing of a great show at Frank Stone Gallery with work by Scott Albright, Danny Saathoff and Farida Hughes on Saturday March 20 from 5 to 9 p.m.

Albright makes whimsical and functional furniture with hand-carved surfaces, found objects and specialty finishes.

Saathoff's jewelry and wall constructions are rich with detail: miniature painted landscapes, architectural plan details, rusted gears and moving airplane parts all combine to make delightful, delicate Rube Goldberg-like assemblies.

Hughes' abstract paintings have bright colorful flocks of shapes that flit over the colorfield like birds, leaves or landscapes viewed from the air.

Coming to University Avenue

by Wing Young Huie

by Wing Young Huie

Public art that documents a changing America will soon adorn University Avenue in St. Paul.

Internationally acclaimed photographer Wing Young Huie spent three years chronicling the colliding and evolving American experience on University Avenue, a jammed stretch of storefronts, taverns, big-box retailers, blue-collar neighborhoods and condominium communities.

The result, “The University Avenue Project,” will open May 1 as a gallery of 500 photographs exhibited in store windows and on buildings along the six miles of University Avenue between the Minneapolis border and the state Capitol. At the center of the project is a spectacular installation site where images will be projected nightly on billboard-size screens, accompanied by recorded soundtracks from local musicians and monthly live performances.

You'll be hearing more about this in the coming weeks. Stay tuned! For now, learn more about The University Avenue Project.

About the Artist

Wing Young Huie creates societal mirrors of who and what we are becoming, seeking to reveal not only what is hidden, but also what is plainly visible yet seldom noticed.

Wing, a native of Duluth, MN, has received international acclaim for his projects documenting his home state of Minnesota. Published collections of his work include Frogtown: Photographs and Conversation in an Urban Neighborhood; Lake Street USA; and Looking for Asian America: An Ethnocentric Tour.

Functional Dysfunction

I Love You Always by Ray Becoskie & Caprice Glazer

A show featuring collaborative paintings by Ray Becoskie and Caprice Glaser opens March 19 in the Inez Greenberg Gallery at the Bloomington Theatre and Art Center.

Join the artists at the opening reception this Friday, March 19, 6-8 p.m., and watch as the artists demonstrate how their collaborative approach unfolds as they begin a new canvas in the gallery.

Learn more.

Art Is Art; Even Fake Art

Interesting story in the StarTribune today. Exhibit details below.

ELMYR DE HORY:

ARTIST AND FAKER

What: Drawings and paintings in the style of Modigliani, Picasso, Matisse and other modernists.

When: 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 1- 5 p.m. Sat.-Sun. Ends April 18. Free.

Where: Hillstrom Museum of Art, Gustavus Adolphus College, 800 W. College Av., St. Peter, Minn.

Next Sunday: Lecture by the artist's friend Mark Forgy, 3:30 p.m. March 21, free. Wallenberg Auditorium, Gustavus.

Info: 1-507-933-7171 or www. gustavus.edu/finearts/hillstrom.

Dr. Seuss Spotted on Nicollet Mall

Thanks to Jean Stephen Galleries the Twin Cities Art Scene has rare access to the art of Dr. Seuss. If you are a reader of The Business Journal you're likely to remember one of many executives mentioning the book, Oh, The Places You'll Go! as career inspiration. It seems that Seuss' art also resonates with more than just the elementary school's jet set.

"We've noticed that even in a down economy people like to smile." commented Steve Danko proprietor of Jean Stephens Galleries on the enduring sales success of Seuss' work (Theodor Seuss Geisel died on September 24, 1991). Geisel's life is full of interesting details that few know (for one, he worked for years in advertising).

Do something for the love of the Lorax; Visit Jean Stephen Galleries today.

Call for Artists RFQ--Plymouth Public Library, Glass Art and Wall Art

This opportunity is open to visual artists (individuals or teams) living in the eight county Twin Cities metro area.

This is a two-phase process, beginning with the submission of qualifications. A group of finalists will be selected and invited to submit preliminary concepts. All finalists will be interviewed and a selection will be made for the final commissions. Artists or teams may apply for one or both opportunities. Artists are sought to respond to the following opportunities:

CATEGORY 1. Glass Art: $60,000

The new Plymouth Library boasts many glass windows and an abundance of natural light. A focal area of three windows greets visitors upon entering the library and highlights a central corridor in the building. An artist will be commissioned to design glass art for these windows that honors the natural exterior setting and complements the architecture and light of the library. Artist may consider a variety of glass art methods including treatment to the existing

windows, framed glass art mounted within the window frames, or other permanent applications. The height of the windows is approximately nine feet and the width of the three windows is approximately 14 feet.

CATEGORY 2. Wall Art: $20,000

This project will be situated on the overhead wall opposite the glass art window area, marking the exit hallway. The library will commission an artist or team to create a dynamic mural or lightweight wall relief to enliven the space and provide a focal point for visitors. All mediums will be considered, although the final project will need to take into account the minimal structural integrity of the wall and the existing lighting. The dimensions of the art space on the wall are approximately 10 feet high by 30 feet long. The triangular area extending above the hanging light fixture is optional for any art concepts.

Learn more (download PDF of full RFQ).

This information is from the Forecast Public Art press release.

Artist Talk with TaCoumba Aiken

TaCoumba Aiken, Thought Bubble

Artist talk with TaCoumba Aiken at Frank Stone Gallery at 2 p.m. on Sunday, March 7.

Ta-Coumba’s work includes themes of healing, communication, and building community in a cross-cultural environment. Several of his new works were created in response to the tragedy in Haiti.

Frank Stone Gallery

1224 2nd Street NE, Minneapolis, MN 55413